This invention relates to cuffed medico-surgical tubes.
Various medico-surgical tubes have an inflatable cuff encircling the tube, which is used to make a seal with a part of the body in which the tube is inserted. The cuff is preferably located as close as possible to the tip of the tube shaft so that it is kept away from the surrounding tissue, to avoid trauma. Although it is possible for a tube to have a cuff that projects beyond the end of the shaft, this brings with it a risk that the cuff might occlude the opening of the shaft, because of the flexible nature of the cuff.